TL;DR India recorded 1.71 lakh suicides in 2023, the highest in over a decade, with a suicide rate of 12.3 per lakh population. Men account for roughly 73% of all suicide deaths, but women are disproportionately affected in younger age groups. Family problems were the leading reported cause (32%), followed by illness (19%). Daily wage workers formed the largest occupational group, and most victims came from households earning under ₹1 lakh annually.

Context
Every year, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) publishes the ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI)’. Behind every row of data is a person, a family, and a set of circumstances that pushed someone to a point of no return. This article tries to make sense of those numbers: how India’s suicide crisis has grown over the past decade, which parts of the country are most affected, who the victims are, and what is driving them to take their own lives.

Who Compiles This Data?
The data comes from the NCRB’s Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI) report, compiled annually using police reports from across states and districts.

Where can I download Clean & Structured Data on Suicides in India?

Clean, standardised, and ready-to-use datasets on suicides in India, including year-wise trends, state and city-level breakdowns, demographic profiles, causes, and means used, can be downloaded from Dataful.

Key Insights

India’s suicide numbers have been climbing for a decade, with a sharp spike after 2019
In 2013, India recorded about 1.35 lakh suicides, with a rate of 11 per lakh population. The numbers dipped slightly through the mid-2010s, reaching a low of around 1.29 lakh in 2017. But from 2018 onwards, the trend reversed sharply. By 2023, India crossed 1.71 lakh suicides, a 32% increase from 2017 in just six years.

The most dramatic jump came in 2020, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdowns. Suicides rose from about 1.39 lakh in 2019 to 1.53 lakh in 2020, a single-year increase of almost 10%. The rate climbed from 10.4 to 11.3 per lakh. Widely discussed factors include economic stress, isolation, domestic conflict, and disruption to support systems. The numbers have continued to grow since, with 2022 and 2023 both exceeding 1.70 lakh, the highest totals on record.

Who is dying: A demographic profile of suicide victims in 2023

Understanding who dies by suicide is as important as knowing how many. The 2023 NCRB data paints a detailed picture across age, marital status, occupation, and income level.

Age: The 30-to-45-year age group recorded the highest number of suicides in 2023, at about 55,731. The 18 to 30 age group was close behind at 56,170 suicides. Together, these working-age groups account for nearly two-thirds of suicide deaths. Among those below 18 years, the gender pattern reverses strikingly: girls outnumbered boys, with 5,823 female suicides against 4,961 male suicides. This is one of the few age groups where women die by suicide at higher rates than men, a pattern seen in several countries and often linked to domestic pressure, early marriage, and limited autonomy for young women.

Marital Status: Married individuals made up the largest group, at about 1.15 lakh suicides, which is around 67% of all cases. Unmarried individuals accounted for about 44,756 suicides. This does not necessarily mean marriage increases suicide risk. Since a large proportion of India’s adult population is married, the absolute numbers are naturally higher. However, the data on widowed, separated, and divorced persons is concerning: these groups together account for about 4,921 suicides and given that they represent a much smaller share of the population, their suicide rates are likely quite elevated.

Occupation: Daily wage labourers or Day labourers were the single largest group among suicide victims, with around 47,170 deaths. This is a deeply concerning figure given that daily wage work is among the most precarious forms of employment, with no income security, no formal safety net, and high exposure to economic shocks. Self-employed individuals (20,148) and salaried persons (16,517) were the next largest groups. Homemakers (24,048), all of whom were women, died by suicide in 2023. Students accounted for about 13,892 suicides, while 14,234 unemployed individuals also died by suicide. The student and unemployed suicide figures are particularly significant given ongoing concerns about academic pressure and joblessness among young Indians.

Farmers: The data records about 10,786 farmer suicides in 2023. While this number has drawn significant policy attention over the years, it is worth noting that the definition of farmer in this context includes both landowners and agricultural labourers. That said, the underlying crisis of agricultural distress, debt, and climate vulnerability in farming communities remains very real.

Income Level: The income breakdown reveals a stark economic dimension to India’s suicide crisis. About 1.13 lakh people who died by suicide in 2023, that is around 66% of all victims, came from households earning less than ₹1 lakh per year. Another 48,432 came from the ₹1 to ₹5 lakh income bracket. Together, those earning up to ₹5 lakh a year account for over 95% of all suicide deaths. Only about 1,769 victims came from households earning above ₹10 lakh a year.

Overall, men accounted for about 73% of all suicide deaths in 2023, consistent with the global pattern where men die by suicide at higher rates while women have higher rates of attempts. However, the sub-18 exception and the 24,048 homemaker deaths both point to specific vulnerabilities for women that deserve focused attention.

Why people are taking their lives: Family stress and illness dominate, but the picture is complex

Family problems were the most commonly cited cause in 2023, accounting for 54,653 deaths. This is an umbrella category that can include domestic violence, marital conflict, disputes with relatives, and broader family dysfunction. Illness came second at 32,503 deaths, covering both physical and mental health conditions. The high share of illness-related suicides points to the dual burden of inadequate pain management for chronic conditions and severely limited access to mental healthcare across much of India.

Causes not known and other causes together accounted for about 20% of cases. This large share of unclassified or vague categories is itself a data quality concern, and likely reflects police recording limitations as much as any genuine pattern.

Drug abuse and alcoholic addiction were recorded as causes in 12,019 cases, a figure that is almost certainly an undercount given the stigma around substance use. Marriage-related issues came in at 9,045 suicides, and love affairs at 8,012.

Why Does It Matter?

Suicide is not an individual failing. The data consistently show that it is most concentrated among people under the greatest economic, social, and health pressures: daily wage workers with no safety net, young adults navigating a difficult job market, women facing domestic stress, and people dealing with chronic illness without adequate care. Three things stand out from this data:

• The rise in suicides since 2019 has not reversed

• The burden falls disproportionately on low-income, working-age individuals

• Economic and social precarity consistently intersect with mental distress

Policymakers must invest in primary mental healthcare, especially in rural areas; strengthen social protection for daily wage/informal workers; seriously address family and domestic violence; and improve suicide data quality across all states to fully visualise the problem.

If you or someone you know is struggling, the iCall helpline is available in English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Assamese, Punjabi, and Malayalam at 9152987821. The Government of India’s Tele MANAS, a comprehensive mental health care service, can be reached on 14416 or 1-800 891 4416

Key Numbers

All-India suicides and rate (year-wise):
– 2013: 1,34,799 suicides, rate 11.0
– 2017: 1,29,887 suicides, rate 9.9 (decade low)
– 2020: 1,53,052 suicides, rate 11.3 (COVID-year spike)
– 2023: 1,71,418 suicides, rate 12.3 (decade high)

Demographic highlights (2023):
– 73% of victims were male
– 66% of victims earned less than 1 lakh rupees per year
– Daily wage labourers: 47,170 deaths (27% of total)
– Homemakers: 24,048 deaths (all female)
– Students: 13,892 deaths

Top causes of suicide (2023):
– Family problems: 54,653 (32%)
– Illness: 32,503 (19%)
– Drug abuse and addiction: 12,019 (7%)